Haas F1 deals with team orders after Romain Grosjean's ninth-place finish in Singapore

Kevin Magnussen unhappy after F1 Singapore Grand Prix

By
GMM

Sep 21, 2017

Haas F1 team principal Guenther Steiner is defending team orders imposed during the Formula 1 Singapore race last weekend after Romain Grosjean finished ninth after teammate Kevin Magnussen was told to let him pass.

When Magnussen emerged from his car under the city-state's floodlights, he told the media that being ordered by his bosses to give up a place to Grosjean potentially cost the team points. Afterward, however, he told the Danish newspaper BT: "After the race, I said on TV that the decision cost us points. But it was a slightly different situation than I thought."

Indeed, Steiner said the order was simply a matter of making the best use of race strategy to boost the team's chances of points.

Haas' drivers are 13th and 14th in the standings. On the constructors' side, Haas is in eighth place -- the same place the team finished last year -- but just 15 points from sixth in a tight battle among the backmarkers. Haas leads just hapless McLaren and Sauber in the standings.

"There is no favoritism," he said. "Romain and Kevin are equal, but during the races, we make certain decisions from the pit wall. We have talked and cleared the air. Maybe we hurt some feelings, but we have explained why, and it was accepted."

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